The strikes targeted the mountainous Dehgan area, some 25 kilometres (16 miles) west of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal district and a stronghold for Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants on the border with Afghanistan.

"The strikes were carried out based on confirmed reports about the presence of Uzbek and other militants in the area," an official said.

No exact number of the militants killed in airstrikes was immediately available. The strikes took place overnight in a remote location.

But a local security official told AFP that "dozens of militants have been killed and eight of their hideouts have been destroyed".

There were competing reports about the identity of those killed. But a second intelligence official in Miranshah told AFP that Uzbek fighters were targeted.